1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a centrifugal separator used for centrifugation of various solutions to be processed, and in particular, to a vertical centrifugal separator having a mechanism for automatically discharging solids produced during centrifugal operation.
2. Background Art
Generally, a vertical centrifugal separator includes a casing, a bowl housed rotatably in the casing, and a driving unit such as a motor for driving the bowl. In one known structure, the bowl is supported by, for example, bearings disposed on both the upper and lower sides of the casing (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). Such a vertical centrifugal separator further includes a heavy-liquid discharge portion disposed on the upper side of the casing to discharge a heavy liquid and a light-liquid discharge portion disposed above the heavy-liquid discharge portion to discharge a light liquid. This vertical centrifugal separator is configured such that the bowl is rotated at high speed (for example, 10,000 rpm or higher) during centrifugal operation with the solution to be processed being supplied to the bowl, so that a strong centrifugal force (for example, 20,000 G) is generated to discharge the heavy liquid and the light liquid separated from the solution being processed from the respective discharge portions.